Actors SRK and Big B have become thick friends

At one point of their career they were arch rivals. But, as time progressed, SRK and Big B have become thick friends. Thanks to their new chemistry, now SRK has no qualms picking up his phone and dialing his one time rival, that too on fast dial.

The buzz doing rounds is that SRK called up Big B recently and requested to send him some extra film passes for PAA’s premiere, since his kids also want to watch Big B in his new role that has already caught the fancy of the kids. The premiere of PAA is expected to be a big affair and both Shahrukh and Aamir Khan will be present at the event along with their families.

The growing friendship between SRK-Aamir and Big B is seen as the beginning of a new camp in B-Town. With Salman Khan out of this big alliance, we wonder what else the trio plans to do besides coming to pose together at the PAA’s premiere.

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Amitabh Bachchan speaks exclusively to the BBC Asian Network

One of India’s most famous actors, Amitabh Bachchan , speaks exclusively to the BBC Asian Network next week as part of a special series of programmes to mark the actor’s 40-year Bollywood career.

On Monday, comedian and actor Sanjeev Bhaskar investigates the British-Asian community’s love affair with India’s top film star in an Asian Network Reports special. Bhaskar traces his own love affair with Bachchan (also known as Big B) - from his early memories of watching his hero on the big screen to meeting his idol for the first time. He also hears from Oscar-winning actor and friend Sir Ben Kingsley.

Bachchan reveals how his phenomenal journey began when he gave up a career in engineering to become an actor. From sleeping rough to getting his first break, he talks about arriving in Mumbai in 1969 and how he got noticed by directors.

After starring in what is thought to be one of Bollywood ’s most successful films of all time, SHOLAY, Amitabh explains how he thought he almost missed out on a bigger opportunity: "What disturbed me at that time was the fact that I couldn’t play Gabbar Singh, because I felt that was the most important and really interesting character...but we never knew what we were doing was going to turn out to be so successful".

Bachchan goes on to talk about his most memorable moments from his 40-years in Bollywood - including his infamous near death accident on the set of COOLIE (1983); how he set up his ABCL business; and how he nearly went bankrupt. He says: "All the creditors were from my own industry, and I was going to remain here as an actor...I would not be able to face them if I knew that I owed them money. So...I worked hard and I paid back every single penny."

From 1984 he took a four year sabbatical away from the industry but looking back at his decision, Bachchan questions whether he was right: "I was without a job, without money, with a huge amount of creditors. I went to Yash Chopra and said I need work. He gave me MOHABBATEIN [2000]), and slowly those character roles started coming my way."

The entire Bachchan family is recognized as an acting dynasty. Bachchan’s wife is actress Jaya Bachchan; his son, Abhishek Bachchan and his daughter- in-law Aishwariya Rai Bachchan. Aishwariya went from winning the Miss World title to becoming the highest paid and most popular actress in Indian cinema. Talking about the ’Bachchan brand’ he says: "I’m not able to understand the word brand, we’re all actors... and we are also family. We leave the home in the same car, we go to the studio and we share the same make up van and so on. But when the camera starts, we are all individuals and we play our role."

This intimate interview is packed with famous songs from Bachchan’s movies including: ZAANJER, DEEWAR, KABHIE KHABI, COOLIE; SARKAR; BUNTY AUR BABLI; and KABHI KHUSHI KABHIE GHAM.

Husain Husaini, Head of Programmes, BBC Asian Network, says: "Amitabh’s forty years in Bollywood have made him loved by Asian Network listeners of all ages. So to be able to celebrate his work with our special programmes and by getting his own perspective on his unprecedented career is a special highlight for us. The week of programmes are a must-listen for film fans and will give them a real insight into a Global superstar."

The interview with Bachchan will be on the Asian Network’s podcast from 12th December.

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Movie Review- PAA is an outstanding film

Can you ever imagine watching an Amitabh Bachchan film and not watching Amitabh Bachchan in it? Seems impossible, isn’t it? The towering persona and the rich baritone just cannot be overlooked. But R. Balki transforms the legendary actor into Auro, replaces the rich baritone with the voice of an adolescent [who’s neither grown up, nor a kid] and taps the hitherto untapped talent of the icon.

Trust me, 10 minutes into the film and you forget you’re watching Amitabh Bachchan. For, Auro takes over the moment he is introduced to the viewer.

PAA is a simple film told in the most simplistic manner and that’s one of the prime reasons why this film works big time. The emotions would’ve fallen flat had the writing been sub-standard or the execution of the material been humdrum or the actors been inferior. But, thankfully, PAA scores in all three departments, although it must be said that the entire slum redevelopment episode is a complete put-off.

Yet, all said and done, PAA is an outstanding film. A film for every paa, every maa... for everyone with a heart. Take a bow, Auro!

Auro [Amitabh Bachchan] is an intelligent, witty 13-year-old boy with an extremely rare genetic defect that causes accelerated ageing. He suffers from progeria. Mentally, he is 13, very normal, but physically he looks five times older.

Inspite of his condition, Auro is a happy boy. He lives with his mother Vidya [Vidya Balan], a gynaecologist, but is completely clueless of his father’s identity. Till he meets him, Amol [Abhishek Bachchan ], who is a full of ideals politician.

Okay, let’s not disrespect Balki by calling PAA a rip-off of THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON or JACK. It’s not! PAA looks at the varied relationships so minutely. It may’ve been publicized as a father-son film, but the women - mother and granny - play equally pivotal parts.

The first hour of PAA grips you in patches. The introduction of Auro is brilliant, but the moment the story focuses on the politician and his arch rival’s sub-plot, it goes off-track. Sure, there are some interesting sequences, but the impact isn’t mesmeric.

But the post-interval portions take the film to dizzy heights and camouflages the defects. The father-son bonding and the penultimate 25 minutes raise the bar. The emotional quotient is tremendous. Get ready to overhear a lot of sniffs and see a lot of moist eyes once the lights are switched on.

Note the two sequences in the climax, when Auro reveals what his father’s first mistake was and the pheras towards the end. Also recall the scene when the girl Auro detests for a certain reason shows up with a sketch of Auro. It moves you completely.

But let’s not mistaken PAA to be a rona-dhona movie. It’s a positive film with funny/light moments in plenty. The conversation between Auro and his best friend, on various occasions, are superb. Also, not once does PAA show Auro as ’different’. He’s one among the kids and there’s no discrimination whatsoever, which is remarkable.

Director R. Balki deserves a salute for thinking out of the box and also presenting Amitabh Bachchan like never before. The writing may be erratic, but his handling of the emotional moments is exemplary. Note this, he would be a force to reckon with after PAA. Ilaiyaraaja’s music is soothing. P.C. Sreeram’s cinematography is incredible.

It would be a blunder if one missed out the contribution of the makeup artists. Transforming the veteran actor into a kid must’ve been an arduous task and Christien Tinsley and Domini Till deserve to be complimented for making Auro look so real.

Now to the performances! No amount of praise, no amount of adjectives and personifications would do justice to Amitabh Bachchan’s performance as Auro. Sure, the icon has enthralled us with superlative performances in his four-decade career, but PAA is something else. The icon keeps surprising you at regular intervals and PAA is one of those beautiful surprises, which will remain etched in your memory forever.

That doesn’t mean that the remaining performances get dwarfed by Auro. Sure, PAA belongs to Auro, but not once does Abhishek Bachchan dither from his position or seems less inferior. This is the hallmark of a tremendous actor, which Abhishek is. Vidya is another surprise of PAA. She takes giant strides as an actor and proves yet again that given the right roles, she can match up to the best in the business.

Paresh Rawal is effective. Arundhati Naag is amazing. So is the kid, Pratik, enacting the role of Auro’s best buddy. His telephonic conversation with Auro is superb. Jaya Bachchan’s presence is lovely.

On the whole, PAA is an amazing experience. It makes you realize two things. One, the Hindi film industry is also capable of narrating fresh stories. Two, Amitabh Bachchan is truly the most accomplished actor this side of the Atlantic.

Talking from the business point of view, PAA has been made in a sensible and reasonable budget [approx. Rs. 17 crores, including P & A expenses], which should easily be recovered from multiplexes alone.

In the final tally, here’s a film that should win awards [for Auro] and also box-office rewards, given its low costs. A film that should strike a chord with every paa, maa... just about everyone with a heart!

Rating: 3

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Big B is an incredible human being-Aishwarya Rai

Its Amitabh Bachchan everywhere. He is making waves thanks to Paa’s trailers and pictures. He plays a 13-year-old boy down with progeric, sign of ageing early in life.

The Big B of Bollywood plays his son’s son Abhishek Bachchan in the movie. Check out what his ‘bahu’ Aishwarya Bachchan say about this:

“He is an incredible human being and a professional. I don’t need to say these words, but he’s leading an extremely busy life with all his commitments.”

She adds, “When I had been to meet Auro in shooting spot, I could hardly recognise him. His dedication and sincerity impressed me. A great actor, his patient wait for the makeup was great.”

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Amitabh Bachchan staggering Rs 126 crore paycheque for Bigg Boss

As reported earlier Big B Amitabh Bachchan will soon be back on the small screen, this time to host Season 3 of the controversial reality show Bigg Boss.

The fact that Bachchan is now also officially the highest paid presenter on TV, is sure to add to the buzz surrounding his return. Brought in as a replacement for Shilpa Shetty on Bigg Boss, the ‘Shahenshah’ of Bollywood will take home Rs 1.5 crore per episode. Multiply that by 84 episodes and what you get is a staggering Rs 126 crore paycheque for Bachchan.

It’s a new high even for Big B himself. For Bigg Boss, he is being paid nearly twice of what he got for Kaun Banega Crorepati. But there’s an important difference between then and now. When KBC happened, the Bachchan brand was at its lowest ebb. Today the actor is among the country’s top five celebrity endorsers.

If Shilpa Shetty with her minor fan following and no films to promote could get Bigg Boss a 2.2 TRP, Bachchan with his enormous brand value and at least nine releases in the pipeline, could certainly better that. Or at least that’s what the show’s producers would be hoping for.

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Amitabh Bachchan to take Bigg Boss to another level

Indian television can’t get any bigger than this. As the channel Colors’ CEO Rjaesh Kamat puts it, “It’s Bollywood Ka Boss meets Bigg Boss.”

Amitabh Bachchan has agreed to play a very special role in the third season of Bigg Boss which begins in October.

This is the Big B’s second television appearance after the spectacular Kaun Banega Crorepati. And hence crucial. Negotiations between the Big Band Colors were frantically on until late this week.

Finally on Friday the Colors team headed for Singapore to announce the Big B’s presence on the show.

Says Kamat, “Why Mr Bachchan? You may well ask. After the success of Season 2 we needed to take Bigg Boss to another level.

We went to the drawing board and concluded that the only way we could take the show higher was by introducing the concept of the Pop Philosopher. Earlier we had the anchors commenting on the goings on in the Bigg Boss.

Now the discussion would move to a dinner-table introspective level. Why were the contestants doing what they were doing…..what were their motivations? Etc etc. We needed a prophetic voice that would be heard and taken seriously.

Quite frankly if Mr Bachchan hadn’t agreed we’d have scrapped the concept of the pop-philosopher on the show.”

filmmakers and scriptwriters are making a beeline for Singapore. But does the Big B’s second major foray after KBC after years of being offered fiction and non-fiction mean he’s now in the mood to lean towards the home medium for a while?

“Not at all, ” says the Big B. “I finished my pending film assignments and then came here. My trip to Singapore was planned well in advance. The next lot of films are crystallizing.

In the meanwhile I took on Bigg Boss because they thought I could be a convincing voice of reason on the show. I’m not the host or the anchor. I’ve a totally different function as a commentator who could connect with audiences without talking down to them.”

The icon surprises you by saying he’s nervous. “You’d think KBC was harder because that was my first time on television. But no.

Every time I do anything new and that means starting a new film project too, I get butterflies in my stomach. I’m happy about this show because like KBC it has been conceptualized and created by the best minds and some of the finest psychologists. So I’m in safe hands.”

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Amitabh Bachchan Paa as a tribute to Childrens Day

The highly rated Cheeni Kam director Balki is releasing his extremely unusual role reversal drama Paa on November 13 as a tribute to Children’s Day.

“It’s a film about the child within man, and the man within the child. And I can’t think of a better tribute to the child than Children’s Day,” says Balki who completed shooting the film in England recently.

After shooting his two feature films Cheeni Kam and now Paa in England, Balki wants to return to the country again.

“We shot Paa in my favorite location England. Throughout the stint in Cambridge we were at sea, never on land. I love shooting in London. I shot my first two films there. If I had my way, I’d shoot all my films there.”

Balki took up the challenge of projecting Big B like never before. “In Cheeni Kam I really didn’t have to do anything. I made him play himself. Here in Paa, I had to bring out that child within him which has always been there. We tapped that part of him. It wasn’t easy for Amitji to play a child at heart. Fortunately Abhishek and Vidya Balan too are extremely intelligent actors. She has played such a charming mom. Throughout the film they behave as if Amitji is their son. For Abhishek this was his chance to get even with his dad.”

Any regrets about not casting Tabu again? “After what she did with Amitji in Cheeni Kam it wasn’t possible to cast her in Vidya’s role.”

Balki is not bothered with how the audience will accept the two actors in reversed roles. “There’s no point in making a film, if it doesn’t push envelopes. I won’t do a film that doesn’t challenge me and my actors.”

Another ongoing leitmotif in Balki’s cinema is the music of Ilaiyaraja. “He’s God. He has been a major source of inspiration. I don’t think India has known a better music composer. Sadly one-half of India has not heard him enough.”

For Cheeni Kam, Balki specifically asked Ilaiyaraja for tunes from his Tamil films. “I wanted Hindi moviegoers to hear those times. Even in Paa, I’ve transposed some of his South Indian tunes into Hindi. It’s not that important to be original. It’s more important to do what you believe in.”

Balki is miffed that the Big B’s Progeria look has been leaked out. “Fortunately that’s only a part of his look. No one came on the set to see how he looks on camera. The makeup person was given a computer-generated picture of Amitji. He improvised a lot on that, and added traits from real Progeria patients.”

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Abhishek Bachchan will have two flims with the Jay Dixit!

Buzz has it that Aditya Chopra may direct Dhoom 3; ropes in Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan…

Reclusive director Aditya Chopra, who is perfectly content to oversee and remote control the YRF empire while leaving the actual direction of the films to someone else, is now excited at the possibility of Dhoom 3, especially if his wish list of actors is satisfied.

Reportedly Shah Rukh Khan, who can never say no to Adi, has consented to be part of the film. An equally important role has been offered to Hrithik Roshan. Hrithik who is fastidious to a fault sometimes, is supposed to be mulling over the offer, even as he stays busy with his home production Kites and his new film with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Guzaarish.

Abhishek Bachchan will of course reprise the Jay Dixit of the earlier two films and Uday Chopra will continue to play the lovable Ali who woos all the pretty girls.

But the icing on the very crowded cake will be that Aditya Chopra will direct the film. But, and this is a big but, only if all the said actors are in place.

But then, has anyone been known to refuse Adi? We think not.

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Bollywood’s favourite politician Amar Singh’s health is causing increasing

The condition of Bollywood’ s favourite politician Amar Singh’s health is causing increasing concern to his well-wishers, and none more than Sanjay Dutt who’s currently trying hard to get completely back into camera range in Goa for Rohit Shetty’s laughathon All The Best.

Two months ago Amar Singh was hospitalized in Mumbai for what was said to be ‘routine’ investigation and tests. It now appears the tests were not so routine. And that Amar Singh might be more seriously ill than his protective friends are willing to let out.

Sanjay Dutt’s flying visit from Goa to visit his mentor in the Batra hospital on Delhi on 5 June is proof that all is not well with Amar Singh’s health.

Having resolved to shoot uninterrupted in Goa Dutt’s decision had to be hurriedly revoked when news of Amar Singh’s re-hospitalization reached the sensitive and emotional actor.

According to the unit Dutt wanted to immediately rush to Delhi, but decided to wait till pack-up on 4 June evening before hiring a private jet to fly him to Amar Singh.

Says a source close to Dutt, “Sanjay wanted to go to Delhi the minute he heard that Amar Singhji was unwell. But then he came to know that 5 June is his All The Best co-star Fardeen’s father Feroz Khan’s fortieth-day rituals.

So now Sanjay flies out to Delhi from Goa by a chartered plane on 4th evening after pack-up and will spend the entire day on the 5th with Amar Singhji.

He resumes shooting on the 6th when Fardeen also returns from Mumbai after attending his late father’s rituals.”

In the meanwhile Rohit Shetty would continue shooting action scenes.

By sheer coincidence Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan happened to be in Delhi when Amar Singh was hospitalized. The father and son paid the ailing politician a visit on Tuesday.

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Amitabh Bachchan Will See fully tonsured man in PA

With summer at its peak, everyone almost goes for a crew cut or maybe a completely tonsured look. But one visit to the sets of Pa has a totally different story to tell and see.

Everyone’s ground fell apart when realised that the fully tonsured man (which also included his eyebrows!) was none other than Amitabh Bachchan ...yes...you heard it right...the Legendary Amitabh Bachchan. And this look of his is not in tune with the summer and its heat.

Instead this is how he will look like in his forthcoming film Pa which stars him alongwith beta Abhishek and Vidya Balan.

Pa is being directed by the ad whiz R. Balakrishnan (popularly known as ’Balki’) and who had earlier directed the Big B -Tabu starrer Cheeni Kum.

Even though every minute detail of this film is being kept under strict wraps, rumors have it that the film is about a child who ages much faster than any normal child would do.

If you thought that the adjoining picture of Big B took the daylights out of you, then, let us tell you that the real surprise of the film lies in the fact that Amitabh Bachchan plays Abhishek Bachchan and Vidya Balan’s son in the film.

News also has it that the shoot has been carried out swiftly in locations of Delhi, whereby, a team of highly qualified make up experts worked on Big B’s look for a whopping 6 hours at a stretch! And the results are for everyone to see.

Our repeated attempts to establish contact with Balki, the man of the moment, proved futile.

All in all, this one surely seems to be one of Big B’s highly anticipated films that everyone is going to look forward to this year

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Amitabh Bachchan and Ben Kingsley film that has created a stir ever

Oh, how much of a trick can the ‘First Look’ of a movie do? One quick look at the poster of TEEN PATTI and you know why production houses along their marketing teams and publicists spend so much time, effort and energy in coming up with that perfect ‘First Look’ of their product.

That’s further substantiated when you get to see Amitabh Bachchan and Ben Kingsley sharing the same frame for this Leena Yadav film that has created a stir ever since the poster was unveiled.

The poster features the two legends standing in front of a white board/wall that has dozens of mathematical equations scribbled on it.

To further support the visual appeal and the theme of the film, there is also a caption that reads - ‘An equation that changed all other equation’. Predominantly a Black & White framing with a touch of red thrown in, TEEN PATTI ensures that it is not a frivolous affair by showcasing it’s men in their suited-booted avtar, what with Madhavan and a few newcomer actors also staring from another poster of the film while wearing a similar outfit.

TEEN PATTI features Ben Kingsley as Perci Trachtenberg, a character who is widely regarded as the word’s greatest living mathematician.

On the other hand Amitabh Bachchan is Venkat, a reclusive math genius from India. They meet in a high rolling casino in London where Venkat tells Perci about an equation that could change the dialogue on mathematics forever. He has cracked a theory that could redefine the principles of probability and randomness.

Further to that, he is encouraged by professor Shantanu (Madhavan) to test his theory in the real world by practicing his equation to crack Teen Patti (a poker game). Also starring Ajay Devgan in a special appearance, the film which is produced by Ambika A Hinduja would most likely be released in the third quarter of 2009.

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Amitabh Bachchan has lambasted the present electronic media in His Blog

After returning from attending the funeral of his old mentor Prakash Mehra , Amitabh Bachchan through his blog has lambasted the present electronic media that was present there to cover the event.

Just a few days back after attending Feroz Khan’s condolence meet, the ageing super star had rightfully vented out his frustration on the ever intruding electronic media members who at such events forget that sensitivity is expected during such occasions.

States Big B, “Prakash ji’s eldest son Sumeet returned from USA this morning and the cremation took place by the afternoon. Abhishek  and I attended it, but the behavior of the electronic media at the crematorium was just disgusting.

No respect shown for the sensitivity of the occasion. No regard for the moment and no ethics at all in maintaining some decorum for this very private and sombre ritual.

All they were interested in was in getting that ‘bite’ or shoving their cameras inches away from your nose, at a moment when one desired peace and quiet. Shameful. But what of some of the mourners, if they can be called that!

They were no less. Pushing and shoving to get a position behind or near about the celebrity, so the cameras can catch them.”

He ends up with with saying, “I shall not dwell on this anymore. I may just burst a blood vessel.”

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Prakash Mehra Hindi film industry’s golden hour has passed Away

Prakash Mehra the man who contributed immensely into making Big B the living legend that he is, died at a private hospital in Mumbai at 8 am on May 17. The cremation will happen on May 18 because the family is awaiting the arrival of his elder son Sumeet, who is currently in the US. “He had been diagnosed with a severe lung infection,’’ says a family source.

The 70-year-old film-maker (born July 13, 1939 in Uttar Pradesh) was one of the leading lights of the Indian film industry having made some of the biggest and most talked about Hindi film hits including - Hasina Maan Jayegi, Mela, Zanjeer, Haath Ki Safaai, Hera-Pheri, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Namak Halal, Laawaris and Sharaabi.

Mehra began his career as a production controller. It was in 1968 that he found his place in the sun as an independent filmmaker with Hasina Maan Jayegi. In the 70s, both he and his lead actor Amitabh Bachchan were immortalised when Zanjeer released. After that there was no looking back for either the man or his Frankenstein (Bachchan).

Mehra’s office at a hotel in Juhu and his dubbing theatre, that carried huge framed photographs of Amitabh Bachchan in Namak Halal, were ‘the power centres’ in Bollywood right through the 70s and 80s.
The filmmaker, always dressed in white trousers and a shirt with matching white shoes, would arrive at his office only after lunch time because he of his laid back lifestyle.

Absolutely intolerant of stars, Mehra never indulged in sycophancy and would often call a superstar a spade. “I’m a self-made man, I see no reason to fade up to anyone,’’ he’d say to media members who were a 4 o’clock audience with him.

Mehra also crossed swords with Manmohan Desai, the other big force in Big B’s life, and the media had a field day when the two big daddies of Bollywood had a volley of words in print. Things came to a head when during the publicity campaigns of Mard (Manmohan Desai) and Sharaabi (Prakash Mehra) Desai said, “Only a mard can make a Mard; and a sharaabi can make a Sharaabi.’’

As luck would have it, Sharaabi was a huge box office hit; and Mehra then got back at Desai in his own way. While death seems an inappropriate occasion to raise past rubbles; the whole idea of this exercise is to show what a spirited man Prakash Mehra was.

In recent years he had become a recluse. A close friend of his son says, “Uncle didn’t come out of his bedroom for days on end. And, he rarely interacted with any outsiders.’’

One of the reasons for Mehra’s despondency was the fact that his wife lay in coma for years on end, and passed away a couple of years ago. All through her illness, the filmmaker cared for her selflessly. His sons Amit and Puneet who live in Mumbai look after their father’s business. With Manmohan Desai and Prakash Mehra passing away; the Hindi film industry’s golden hour has passed.

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Check Out the Amitabh Bachchans good moments at gondola ride

As on its tour of Macau to finalize venue for International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Amitabh Bachchan announced Macau to be the host of 2009 IIFA Videocon Weekend. The event is scheduled between, June 11th to June 13. Last Year’s event held at Bangkok, however, this year it is fixed at The Venetian (r) Macao- Resort Hotel.

In meantime during his schedule he had some good moments at gondola ride that made him nostalgic of his ride 30 years ago. He said, “After Venice, I have experienced a gondola after thirty years at the Venetian Macau. It was an enchanting experience. I sat on the gondola thirty years back to shoot the song ‘Do Lafzon Ki Hai’ for my film ‘The Great Gambler’.” The song was great hit of its time.

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News channels in India beaming into TV-owning homes

The movie, directed by top filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma , is touted as a behind-the-scenes look at how news channels greedy for ratings are being manipulated into sensationalizing stories to grab eyeballs.

“What will the media do if torn between commerce on one hand and conscience on the other - that is the premise of this movie,” lead actor Amitabh Bachchan said at a press conference..

Bachchan, arguably India’s biggest superstar, plays the head of a prominent news channel in “Rann”. Other channel bigwigs, an honest reporter, an dishonest industrialist and a power-hungry politician complete the cast.

With more than 60 English and regional-language news channels in India beaming into TV-owning homes, the film comes at a time when broadcasters are scrambling to provide exclusive content.

Indian television channels were criticized by security agencies for showing live pictures of November’s Mumbai attacks and allegedly giving away important information to attackers trapped inside hotels and a Jewish centre.

“In order to be able to hold a person’s attention, the only way they can do it is to create high drama,” said director Varma.

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Amitabh Bachchan promoting the IIFA Awards

Bollywood Shahenshah Amitabh Bachchan who is also the brand ambassador of IIFA Awards is promoting the the awards too hard this year. The IFFA travels to a new country every year and this time it’s Macau.

Now this one is a port town in South West China and not very far from Hong Kong. It’s also a very special administrative region of China.

He’s said: “After Venice, I have experienced a gondola after 30 years at the Venetian Macau. It was an enchanting experience. I sat on the gondola 30 years back to shoot the song ‘Do lafzon ki hai’ for my film ‘The Great Gambler’ (1979). The song for the film not only made the Venetian gondola popular, but Venice as well.”

He’s says the IFFA will make Macau famous, “After 30 years, today IIFA is going to do the same thing to the Venetian Macau what it (the song) did to Venice then. It was a very interesting and exciting ride.” Well, let’s see if this great prediction of his comes true or not.

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Amitabh Bachchan unhappy with the prospects of Teen Patti

Last week Bollywood’s ageing superstar Amitabh Bachchan through his blog lambasted the crew and unit of his in production film Teen Patti while they were shooting in London along with Sir Ben Kingsley.

Apparently he was not too happy with the way shooting was conducted and also shocked to see the unprepared unit in the last shooting stint of the film which was underway in London.

He then rightfully vented out his anger on his personal blog a couple of days back and what he said was rightly picked up by the media as he very hardly speaks badly about the projects he shoots for.

Now if sources close to the film are to be believed, then there is some truth in the lashing out shown by the Bachchan.

“Apparently, when the film first went on the sets the budget of the film was a mere 12 crores and now after shooting for over a year the film has crossed the budget of 20 crores. This is still only the principal shooting cost. The other costs and overheads are not even considered right now.

The higher the ambition the more careful these filmmakers should be especially when they are dealing with men who stand as examples of sincerity and dedication.

Big B is perhaps unhappy with the prospects of his film going over budget as no star would like to be in such a situation where his film is finding it difficult to recover its huge making cost especially in the present times of recession.” claim sources.

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Amitabh Bachchan unveiled a book on India’s icons

 

Amitabh Bachchan unveiled a book on India’s icons by columnist and film critic Anil Dharker

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Amitabh Bachchan who feels extremely proud Aishwarya

Last year it was dhak dhak girl Madhuri Dixit-Nene who received the prestigious award Padma Shri from the President of India and now this time around it's going to be the world's most beautiful lady Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who would be honoured with this award.

Amitabh Bachchan who feels extremely proud of her bahu Aishwarya speaks on this eve, ''I would rush to be in time for the President's Award Ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, where Aishwarya will be honoured with the Padma Shri. It's a moment of great pride for all of us.''

Further the legendry actor adds, ''She will become the 5th Padma Award recipient in our family. First my father was awarded with the Padma Bhushan, then the Padma Shri for me, followed again by the Padma Bhushan to me some years later, Jaya's Padma Shri and now Aishwarya's. This must be a record for the country. 5 Padma Awards in one family. God has been very kind to us. The people of this land have been very kind to us. We are humbled and with bended knee and bowed heads acknowledge your affection and care & love.''

Padma Awards were announced on the eve of the Republic Day. Aishwarya is the youngest person to ever achieve this honour from the film fraternity. Apart from her even Akshay Kumar's name was also announced for this recognition.

Amitabh-Abhishek and Aishwarya will be back

The Bachchan trio of Amitabh-Abhishek and Aishwarya will be back after Sarkar Raj with a film being made under their own production company; AB Corps Pvt. Ltd. The film will go on the floors in the second half of the year.

The Bachchans who pride on brandishing the Bachchan brand were initially set on a script that would have Abhi-Ash in the lead, but with Mani Ratnam’s film taking longer than expected to complete the talk is that the Bachchans don’t want another film with the two coming out in quick succession.

So they have no zeroed down on a film based on the lives of two aging dons and their quest for survival against the new breed of mafia.

The movie is set in Mumbai and obviously Big B will be playing one of the leads. And they are very keen on roping in Dharmendra who has made a comeback to mainstream Bollywood to play his partner-in-crime.

Amitabh personally called Dharmendra and sounded off the project to him and the script has been sent over to the Deol house.

Nitpicking son Sunny is still doing his analysis of the script before he lets his Papa say a yes, but we will be only happy to see Jai-Veeru work their magic again.

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